Mystery disease kills over 50 in Congo after children ate bat and fell ill

AN unknown illness first discovered in three children who ate a bat has rapidly killed more than 50 people in northwestern Congo over the past five weeks, health experts say.

According to reports, as of February 16, there have been 431 cases in two outbreaks in remote villages in separate health zones in Equateur province, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a bulletin.

Serge Ngalebato, medical director of Bikoro Hospital, a regional monitoring centre said the interval between the onset of symptoms and death has been just 48 hours in the majority of cases, and "that's what's really worrying,".

The villages have limited surveillance capacity and health infrastructure.

The outbreak began in the village of Boloko after three children ate a bat and died within 48 hours, the Africa office of the WHO said.

Symptoms including fever and fatigue progressed to haemorrhagic signs such as nosebleeds and vomiting blood.

There have long been concerns about diseases jumping from animals to humans in places where wild animals are popularly eaten.

The number of such outbreaks in Africa has surged by more than 60 per cent in the last decade, the WHO said in 2022.

Last year, another mystery flu-like illness that killed more than 143 people in another part of Congo was determined to be likely malaria. – February 26, 2025